POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 634 Safeguards for declared offences under Summary Offences Act 2005

POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 634

634 Safeguards for declared offences under Summary Offences Act 2005

(1) This section applies to an offence under the Summary Offences Act 2005 that is a declared offence for this Act.

(2) A police officer who suspects a person has committed a declared offence must, if reasonably practicable, give the person a reasonable opportunity to explain—

(a) if the offence involves the person’s presence at a place—why the person was at the place; or

(b) if the offence involves entering a place—why the person entered the place; or

(c) if the offence involves any of the following, why the person did the relevant thing—

(i) parachuting or hang-gliding onto a building or structure;

(ii) BASE-jumping or hang-gliding from a building or structure;

(iii) climbing up or down the outside of a building or a structure;

(iv) abseiling from a building or structure; or

(d) if the offence involves possession of a graffiti instrument or an implement—why the person was in possession of the graffiti instrument or implement at the relevant time; or

(e) if the offence involves possession of a thing that is reasonably suspected of having been stolen or unlawfully obtained—how the person came to have possession of the thing.

(3) If—

(a) the person fails to give an explanation; or

(b) the police officer considers the explanation given is not a reasonable explanation; or

(c) because of the person’s conduct, it is not reasonably practicable to give the person a reasonable opportunity to give an explanation;

Example for paragraph (c)—

It may not be reasonably practicable to give the person a reasonable opportunity to give an explanation because of the person’s conduct, for example, the person may be struggling or speaking loudly without stopping.

the police officer may start a proceeding against the person for the declared offence.

(4) In this section—


"declared offence" means an offence against section 11 , 12 , 13 (1) , 14 , 15 , 16 or 17 of the Summary Offences Act 2005 .